उन शैलों को अयस्क (ore) कहते हैं जिनमें वे खनिज हों जिनमें कोई धातु आदि महत्वपूर्ण तत्व हों। अयस्कों को खनन करके बाहर लाया जाता है; फिर इनका शुद्धीकरण करके महत्वपूर्ण तत्त्व प्राप्त किये जाते हैं।

Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals concentrated above background levels, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit. The grade of ore refers to the concentration of the desired material it contains. The value of the metals or minerals a rock contains must be weighed against the cost of extraction to determine whether it is of sufficiently high grade to be worth mining and is therefore considered an ore. A complex ore is one containing more than one valuable mineral.